Canal Street regulars

[RBSinTo]

Taken last October in New Orleans, Louisiana.
During our short five-day holiday, I'd often go out by myself in the early evenings to do a bit of street photography. On this particular night I stopped in front of one the local shops that sold everything from souvenirs to alcohol, to shoot a few of the regulars who spent their evenings on the sidewalk. Using a lens that was too slow by at least a couple of stops and slow film, the result was a blurred image, that strangely for me captured the scene perfectly.
motorized Nikon FA
Vivitar 17-28 f4.0-4.5 AIS manual focus
Fuji Velvia 100 ISO colour slide
f4.0 @ 1/15th

[Shadowman]

It does look like the aftermath of a night on Bourbon street.

[rpcrowe]

I don't usually like unsharp images but, I think that this one works quite well...

[RBSinTo]

John /Richard,
Thanks for commenting.
We three are obviously in the minority, as this photo has been mostly ignored wherever I've posted it.
I knew when I took it that it would be a crap-shoot because I was not properly prepared to take it, but did anyway.
And to my surprise at least, I like the result.
Not great photojournalism to be sure, but something a bit different.
Robert

[Donald]

Not great photojournalism to be sure, but something a bit different.
Robert

But you weren't trying to be a photo-journalist, you were interpreting a scene as you saw it. As you say, 'it captures the scene perfectly'.

It's much more a 'realistic' shot, that if it had been sharp.

Good one.

[plugsnpixels]

Robert, I'm having a few reactions to this photo:

1) The first was how brave you were to be in NO at all, be out at night alone AND photograph the locals! I've never been (my grandparents were during WWII and my father went several times in the '90s and told me horror tales of the night life...) but the good news is you lived and brought your photos back home.

2) The next thing that jumped out at me was the need for color correction, so if you don't mind, here is a version with some basic fixes.



3) The blur does not bother me, rather it adds to the stress and impending drama of the night.

4) Maybe some cropping might strengthen the image?

[RBSinTo]

Donald / Mike,
Thanks for commenting.
Mike,
1. I was out every night either with my wife being tourists or alone being a photographer, and never felt threatened.
As an aside I've been photographing street and homeless people here in Toronto for nearly 20 years, so I'm in my element when I'm on the street.
2. After posting, but before you pointed it out, I did a colour-correction to the original which took a bit of the Magenta cast out, but didn't bother to re-post it. I appreciate your effort to improve the shot.
3. Based on light level, lens speed and film speed I had no expectation that this short would be anything other than a throw-away, but to my surprise I liked it as it seemed to depict the hustle and bustle on the street.
4. I fooled around with a couple of different crops including taking a horizontal slice off the bottom to pull the viewer further into the scene, but didn't like the result. Similarly I debated taking off a vertical slice from our left but again didn't like the result, so went with what you see.
I appreciate that you took the time and effort you did on your critique.
Robert
Robert

[plugsnpixels]

You're welcome Robert! Glad you're street-wise and comfortable. The results of your confidence are obvious.